KoDoTo mini figurines

David Beckham - LA Galaxy mini figure

Recently notice that the local soccer shop was carrying these KoDoTo mini figures, featuring the likes of Wayne Rooney, Stephen Gerrard, Messi, Buffon, Iniesta, Balotelli, van Persie, Ronaldo, Giggs, Lampard, Kaka, Fabregas, Xavi, Robben, Tevez, Ribery, Bale and others. Players come in club or national team uniforms. The figures are about 2.5 inches with the head almost half the size of the overall figure.

There are 2 David Beckham figures that I have located on-line, both the only figures to wear the MLS LA Galaxy uniform. The first, which feautres Beckham smiling,  in an all white Galaxy shirt.  The second features a more serious Beckham in a white with blue striped Galaxy jersey.

Kodoto Football Figure facebook page

Shenzhen Kodoto Toy Co. is a manufacturer from China, specializing in design and production of popular sports figures ( I have seen basketball players and a special Steve Jobs figure).  

2012 FC Dallas - Halloween

2012 - FC Dallas is offering Halloween pumpkin stencils on their website at FC Dallas Pumpkin Pitch.
Designs include the FC Dallas steer logo (above), the FC Dallas word-mark and a soccer ball design from Better Homes and Gardens.

I know there are many Halloween tournaments out there, so good luck and good haunting!

Howler - A Magazine About Soccer

A Magazine About Soccer

vol 1 no 1

Just received my copy of the first edition of Howler a magazine about soccer. The magazine is huge measuring 10 x 12". The cover features a frenzied portrait of Jurgen Klinsman, by Diego Patino, after the US defeat of Mexico...

The magazine features articles on Hope Solo, the 2012 MLS All-Star team, an adaventure of traveling with Mexico's Indios Soccer Club, Soccer Pilgrimage - a visit to soccer holiest sites (Anfield - Liverpool, San Siro - AC Milan, Highbury - Arsnal, Stadio Olimpico - AC Roma), What is American Soccer...

Can't wait to start reading......

Howler

Soccer Shirts

There are many great t-shirt designs hitting the marketplace, and I appreciated the humor of this shirt when I first saw it...
Busted Tees

Objectivo

I have heard debates that Americans should call soccer football and change the name of football. Easier said than done, but this is a possible option...
Onionbag
Soccer T-Shirts

The evolution of man is to play soccer (football)...

Zazzle

World Soccer Shop

Cafe Press

KGB clothing

Club sports

2012 MLS Cup - Entenmann's

Entenmann's is running a contest to win a trip to the 2012 MLS Cup. Information available on boxes of Little Bites or at Entenmann's website.

2008 - MLS Upper Deck

2008 Upper Deck base set - Aleck Eskandrian, and Claudio Reyna

Inserts: Goal Scorers - chris Rolfe, Assist Kings - Dan McCarty

Inserts: Super Draft - Josh Lambo, Young Guns - Robbie Finley

Insert: Keepers - Jon Conway

2008 - MLS Upper Deck trading cards - 200 card base set

Insert cards: Young Guns, Super Draft 2008, Goal Scorers, Keepers, Assist Kings

MLS Materials Memorabilia cards, including David Beckham game used jersey cards...

Autograph cards numbered to 30 from Landon Donavan, Sacha Kljestan, Taylor Twellman and others...

2008.09.04 - Upper Deck press release:

With the addition of David Beckham to the league just over a year ago, collectors are intrigued by his megastar power and long-term collectability, as he single-handedly shook up America's perception of the sport. Sought after game-used cards and autographs fill the 2008 Upper Deck MLS product, featuring such stars as Beckham and Landon Donovan of the LA Galaxy as well as Pablo Mastroeni of the Colorado Rapids.

Kirk Urso - Columbus Crew

Kirk Urso (1990 - 2012)

Urso played 6 games for the Columbus Crew in 2012 before his untimely death at age 22.

The Columbus Crew honored Urso by wearing the number 15 memorial patch on the right hand side of their jersey. The Crew honored Urso with a memorial on Aug 15, 2012 prior to their game against the LA Galaxy. A moment of silence was planned for the 15th minute of the game (15:00 - 15:59).

The Urso family has decided to honor Kirk legacy with the gift of tissue donation. Lifeline of Ohio promotes and co-ordinates organ and tissue donation. As a hero on and off the field, Kirk not only touches lives as a member of the Columbus Crew, but he will continue to impact others through his gift of tissue donation.  Lifeline of Ohio gave out 4,000 green Donate Life bracelets at the game to support Kirk's gift of life.

Red Bull - Pocket Schedule

2006 Red Bulls

 2010 Red Bulls - Spanish version

2011 Red Bulls

originally published 2011.09.01

2012 Red Bulls

Red Bulls possibly have the least exciting designs in pocket schedules...

I guess the stripe at the bottom is an improvement over 2012...

2012 Upperdeck MLS

2012 Upperdeck Retail pack - although not marked as a retail pack. Found this in Target, which was a great surprise to see it amongst the baseball and football cards. The pack sells for $1.00 and has 6 cards. The promotion on the pack says "Look for 2012 Super Draft Rookie Cards" in English and French. There are no memorabilia or autograph cards available in these packs...

The 2012 Hobby pack, which indicates it as a hobby pack in the upper left hand corner retails for around $5.00 offers the promotion "Look for National Pride Jersey Cards!"

The hobby edition features autograph and jersey cards as part of the 200 card base set. The set features the first MLS card for Robbie Keane.Odds of finding game used memorabilia 1:5, autographs 1:20..

Luke Rodgers base card -Rodgers was a Red Bull fan favorite in 201, who did not return in 2012 due to problems obtaining a work visa...

Player Debut cards and Super Draft cards featuring incoming rookies in their college jerseys...

-

Purchased a box and got the following:

MLS Teammates - Freddy Adu & Danny Mwanga

Premium Series #4/25

 Benny Feilhaber - NE Revolution

Joel Lindpere - NY Red Bull

MLS Teammates - Brad Davis & Tally Hall

Autograph - Andrew Duran

Seattle Sounders draft pick currently playing for the Atlanta Silverback

DC United - Dwayne De Rosario : 2012

2012.08.19 DC United honor Dwayne De Rosario with his own bobble-head. The first 7,500 fans inside RFK Stadium for the DC United-Philadelphia Union game will receive a bobble-head courtesy of Volkswagen..

1992 Olympics - Impel

1992 Impel (Skybox) released a 110 card set for the 1992 Summer Olympics, Barcelona, Spain.
The cards were arranged alphabetically by sport (archery to wrestling), with the most popular cards of the set being the Basketball Dream Team and Lance Armstrong.  Members of the US Olympic Soccer represented in the set included:
Dario Brose - US National Team 1994-1997, Stade Briochin (France), FC Saarbrucken (Germany), SJ Clash/Earthquakes (MLS)

Rhett Harty - US National Team (qualified for the Olympics, did not play due to injury), SJ Grizzlies (CISL), MetroStars (MLS)

Chris Henderson - US National Team 1990-2001 (1992 Olympics, 1990, 1998 World Cup), FSV Frankfurt (Germany), Stabaek (Norway), Colorado Rapids (MLS), KC Wizards (MLS), Miami Fusion (MLS), Columbus Crew (MLS), NY Red Bulls (MLS)

As the Olympics close on this day, Congratulations to the US Women's National Team for winning the Gold Medal over Japan 2-0 on 2 goals by Carli Lloyd, following a tough match against an excellent Canadian team which earned the Bronze Medal...

Congratulations to Mexico for winning the Gold Medal in the Men's Tournament defeating a favored Brazilian squad 2-1.

San Jose Earthquakes - Chris Wondolowski : 2012

Centerline Report: Quakes All-Bobblehead Team
2012.08.04 Robert Jonas, SJEarthquakes.com

On the Earthquakes web-site Robert Jonas talks about the Earthquakes honoring Chris Wondolowksi with his own bobble-head - Wondolowski Bobble-head Night Presented by Wells Fargo Aug 6, 2012 at Buck Shaw Stadium as the Earthquake take on the Portland Timbers. The first 5,000 fans will receive the bobble-head.

Jonas also reflected on the previous members of the San Jose Earthquakes to be honored over the years.
Jeff Agoos - 2001 issue the first Earthquakes player to be honored...

Troy Dayak - The Beast was honored in 2004, complete with signature hat...

Landon Donovan - variations exist of this 2001, brown hair or blond or the re-issue holding the Alan I Rotenberg Trophy as MVP of the 2003 MLS Championship...

Joe Cannon - a special commission in 2002 issued to members of the supporters group Club Quake...

Darren Huckerby - by way of Norwich City became an early fan favorite in the summer of 2008 and had his bobble issued in 2009...

2011 World of Sports

Picked up a few packs of Upper Deck's 2011 World of Sports.

On the Upper Deck site they boast the return of the set for it's second year as exciting, with the addition of Football (college) to the previous sports baseball (college), basketball (college), Hockey (Team Canada), Soccer (MLS, WPS and college), golf, surfing, college coaches, lacrosse a video game champion, snowboarder..a truly strange collection of athletes.  Upper Deck stated that last years set was the surprise hit of collecting, while most of the blogs I have seen disliked the product...

I find it interesting that the wrapper features Landon Donovan (MLS-LA Galaxy), golf and basketball...no football or baseball (not complaining)...I can see collectors of one sport having difficulty with a set like this, as it is difficult to obtain the sport of interest. And do I really need a card of a video game champion (like pulling the hot dog eating champ in the Allen & Ginter set!) I also do not understand the use of college photos of pro, like Josh Wolff in his South Carolina jersey?

In my view the card designs are  good, nice clear photos, with the World of Sports banner at the bottom. The checklist for the soccer cards:

214 Kevin Hartman

215 Donovan Ricketts

216 Davy Arnaud

217 Andy Najar

218 Marvell Wynne

219 David Ferreira

220 Michael Stephens

221 Chad Barrett

222 Chad Marshall

223 Kyle Beckerman

224 Kasey Keller

225 Landon Donovan

226 Javier Morales

227 William Hesmer

228 Josh Wolff

229 Omar Gonzalez

230 Justin Braun

231 Fabian Espindola

232 Jamison Olave

233 Robbie Keane

234 Stefan Frei

235 Steve Zakuani

236 Matt Reis

237 Conor Casey

238 Marco Pappa

239 Zack Schilawski

240 Omar Cummings

241 Heath Pearce

242 Teal Bunbury

243 Juan Pablo Angel

244 Shalrie Joseph

245 Sean Franklin

246 Macoumba Kandji

247 Matt Pickens

248 Chris Pontius

249 Diego Chaves

250 Amy Rodriguez

251 Tasha Kai

252 Laura Kalmari

253 Eniola Aluko

254 Brandi Chastain

255 Cat Whitehill

256 Ella Masar

257 Jordan Angeli

258 Jillian Loyden

259 Karen Bardsley

260 Lori Lindsey

261 Lauren Fowlkes

262 Leslie Osborne

263 Nicole Barnhart

264 Shannon Boxx

265 Meghan Klingenberg

266 Hope Solo

267 Heather Mitts

268 Christie Rampone

382 Will Bruin

383 Juan Agudelo

384 Rafael Marquez

385 Sebastien Le Toux

386 Dwayne DeRosario

387 Thierry Henry

388 Charlie Davies

389 Landon Donovan

390 Chris Wondolowski

391 Omar Salgado

392 Tobin Heath

393 Alex Morgan

394 Kelly Smith

395 Christine Sinclair

396 Mia Hamm

397 Marta

398 Abby Wambach

The set features the expected autograph cards (the use of stickers, which I do not like) and relic cards... 

2012 Liverpool FC v Tottenham Hotspurs

2012.07.28 M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Md

Liverpool faced the Tottenham Hotspurs at M&T Bank Stadium, home of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens. 

In a 0-0 draw Fabio Borini made his Liverpool debut, while Stewart Downing made his first pre-season appearance.  Borini had his best opportunity to score as Jordan Henderson swung a deep cross to the back post where Borini was waiting. Unfortunately Borini could not get his shot on target.

Taking the pitch for Liverpool were: Brad Jones, Jamie Carragher, Jon Flanagan, Jonjo Shelvey, Martin Skrtel, Adam Morgan, Joe Cole, Jay Spearing, Charlie Adam, Stewart Downing, Jose Enrique

Second half changes: Steven Gerrard, Danny Wilson, Lucas Leiva, Jack Robinson, Fabio Borini, Stephan Sama, Andy Carroll, Nathan Eccleston, Peter Gulacsi, Jordan Henderson, Raheem Sterling, Andre Wisdom

8x6 card picked up outside the stadium at one of the VIP party tents

(Steven Gerrard and Pepe Reina)

Hotspurs: Brad Friedel, Kyle Naughton, William Gallas, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Younes Kaboul, Jermaine Jenas, Jake Livermore, Aaron Lennon, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Gareth Bale, Harry Kane.

Second half changes: Michael Dawson, Tom Huddlestone, Sebastien Bassong, David Bentley, Tom Carroll, Jan Vertongen, Adam Smith

Liverpool Tour 2012

July 21 - Rogers Centre, Toronto, Canada - Liverpool 1 : Toronto FC 1

July 25 - Fenway Park, Boston, Ma - Liverpool 1 : AC Roma 2

July 28 - M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Md - Liverpool 0 : Hotspurs 0 

Tottenham US Tour 2012

July 24 - Home Depot Center, Los Angeles, Ca - Hotspurs 1 - LA Galaxy 1

July 28  - M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, Md - Hotspurs 0 : Liverpool 0

July 31 - Red Bull Arena, Harrison, NJ - Hotspurs : Red Bull

NBA star Steve Nash, wearing a Tottenham jersey, being interviewed before the game.

Nash grew up playing soccer, his siblings played college and professional soccer, has also practiced with the NY Red Bull an participated in Showdown in Chinatown an 8v8 charity soccer game. Nash's father was born in Tottenham and are both lifelong Hotspur fans...

Sea of Red as seen from our seats...

Logo used at Fenway, when Liverpool met AC Roma. Liverpool was sold to the Fenway Sports Group in 2010... 

2012 - Castrol Upper Deck

One of the promotional items given away at the Castrol booth was a set of 25 trading cards from Upper Deck. The cards are very similar to the 2012 Upper Deck regular set, although the printing quality is different.

The differences in the cards are the Castrol Index logo in the upper corner and the card number placed in a green Castrol circle. On the regular Upper Deck issue the number is in the same location without the green circle.

The backs of the cards feature the same player bio and stats. the tops of the card removes the player photo and replaces it with the Castrol Player Index, which is explained on a separate card as performance tracking for a players' every move on the field and assesses whether it has a positive or negative impact on the team's ability to score or concede a goal.  Keane's index is 7.77. The players position in the set in in decreasing order of their index, where as Koevermans has the highest index...

Checklist
1  Dany Koevermans - Toronto FC
2  Kei Kamara - Sporting
3  Thierry Henry - Red Bull
4  Chris Wondolowski - Earthquakes
5  Hamdi Salihi - DC United
6  Saer Sene - Revolution
7  Steven Lenhart - Earthquakes
8  Bill Hamid - DC United
9  Robbie Keane - Galaxy
10 Andy Grunbaum - Crew
11 Alvaro Saborio - Real Salt Lake
12 Chris Pontius - DC United
13 Dominic Oduro - Fire
14 Kenny Cooper - Red Bull
15 Jaime Castrillon - Rapids
16 Will Bruin - Dynamo
17 Kevin Rowe - Revolution
18 Joe Cannon - Whitecaps
19 Andre Hainault - Dynamo
20 Blas Perez - FC Dallas
21 Olman Vargas - Crew
22 Kris Boyd - Timbers
23 Michael Gspurning - Sounders
24 Dan Kennedy - Chivas
25 Sana Nyassi - Impact

2012 Chelsea USA Tour

(Frank Lampard, Michael Essien, Petr Cech, Fernando Torres)

Front cover of the Chelsea tour program

Chelsea FC had a booth set up as part of the Soccer Celebration before the All-Star game. They gave away tour programs, lanyards, posters and free photos with the FA Cup and Champions League Cup. A great thrill for Chelsea fans.

The program featured articles on the tour with information about each venue Century Link Field, Seattle; Yankee Stadium, NY; PPL Park, Chester, Pa and Sun Life Stadium, Miami.

• There was an article about their relationship with Super Clubs in the US (Maryland, New Jersey, North Carolina, Arizona and Texas).
• A message from the club chairman Bruce Buck (originally from West Orange, New Jersey).
• The Chelsea Foundation and Right To Play.
• Chelsea History
• Stamford Bridge
• Player profiles
• Some nice photos and information about the team coming to the US, which included a photo of Branislav Ivanovic in a Yankee uniform and Juan Mata wearing a Redskin's helmet while throwing an American football.
• Previous visits by Chelsea to the US (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009)
• Photos of Chelsea players with Matt Hasselback of the Seahawks, Charlize Theron, Matt Damon, Owen Wilson, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, Kobe Bryant of the LA Lakers, LaMarcus Aldridge of the Trailblazers, Snoop Dogg and Will Ferell.

Front of a postcard that offered the chance to win a trip to London with match tickets and a stadium tour...

2012 USA Tour pin

Mike looking smug in his Liverpool jersey posing with the Champions League and FA cups.

Yes he caught a lot of heat from the Chelsea fans!

Chelsea US Tour

July 18 2012 - Century Link Field, Seattle, Wa - Chelsea 4 : Seattle Sounders 2

July 22 - Yankee Stadium, Bronx NY-  Chelsea 1 : Pars St. Germaine 1

July 25 - PPL Park, Chester, Pa - Chelsea 2 : MLS All-Stars 3

July 28- Sun Life Stadium, Miami, Fl - Chelsea : AC Miami

2012 - Soccer Celebration

 Gabriel Farfan

Philadelphia Union (MLS 2011-  )

Michael Lahoud

Chivas USA (MLS 2009-2012)

Philadelphia Union (MLS 2012 - )

Zac MacMath

Philadelphia Union (MLS 2011 -  )

Ray Gaddis

Philadelphia Union (MLS 2012 -  )

Amobi Okugo

Philadelphia Union (MLS 2010 - )

Chris Albright

DC United (MLS 1999-2001)

LA Galaxy (MLS 2002-2007)

NE Revolution (MLS 2008-2009)

NY Red Bulls (MLS 2010-2011)

Philadelphia Union (MLS 2012 - )

US National Team 1999-2007

Chase Harrison

Real Salt Lake (MLS 2006)

DC United (MLS 2010)

Columbus Crew (MLS 2010)

Philadelphia Union (MLS 2011 -  )

Brian Carroll

DC United (MLS 2003-2007)

Columbus Crew (MLS 2008-2010)

Philadelphia Union (MLS 2011 -  )

US National Team 2005-

Sheanon Williams

Philadelphia Union (MLS 2010-  )

Bill Hamid

DC United (MLS 2009 -  )

US National Team - 2012-

Freddy Adu

DC United (MLS 2004-2006)

Real Salt Lake (MLS 2007)

Benefica (Portugal 2007-2011)

AS Monaco (Monaco 2008-2009)

Balenenses (Portugal 2009)

Aris FC (Greece 2010)

Caykur Rizespor (Turkey 2011)

Philadelphia Union (MLS 2011 -  )

US National Team 2006 - 

From the pages of Mike's 3rd book of soccer autographs. Every one we met this day was very pleasant. the entire atmosphere of the celebration was great.